Uber driver accused of kidnapping and indecent assault after fake profile campaign

A Dunedin Uber driver accused of sexually offending against passengers has admitted carrying out a sustained campaign of harassment against one woman. Photo / 123RF

A Dunedin Uber driver accused of sex offences against passengers has admitted a sustained campaign of harassment against a woman, including sending explicit messages and letters.

The defendant, who has interim name suppression, is on trial in the Dunedin District Court facing two charges of kidnapping and two of indecent assault, alongside harassment-related offending.

The defendant, in his 30s, has pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and a charge under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

According to the summary of facts, the man first encountered one of the complainants in September 2022, when he picked her and her partner up from a South Dunedin bar after they booked an Uber ride.

After dropping the pair at their Belleknowes home, the interaction appeared to end. However, within days, the defendant allegedly began contacting the woman online using a fake Facebook profile under a pseudonym.

The account used the image of a younger bearded man and listed its location as Christchurch.

The trial is ongoing in the Dunedin High Court. Photo / George Heard

When the woman asked, “Do I know you?”, the sender did not answer directly, instead claiming Facebook had suggested her profile.

She told him not to contact her again and blocked the account.

Over the following weeks, two handwritten letters were delivered to the woman’s home address, both signed by the pseudonym.

One claimed the writer had recently moved into the area and wanted to make friends.

The second was sexually explicit, stating the writer had watched the couple having sex inside their home and had masturbated while doing so.

The defendant accepted that he wrote and delivered the letters, the summary of facts states.

Over a 10-month period, the woman received nearly 200 further messages from the fake profile account, the court heard.

During those exchanges, the sender eventually revealed he was the Uber driver from the September 2022 trip.

The messages escalated to include explicit images.

The final contact was in July 2023.

The court was told the woman and her partner separated in early 2023, and she moved to a different address.

In June that year, the defendant allegedly used the same pseudonym to contact the woman’s former partner, making false claims about her.

Later that month, the woman and a friend called the profile and recorded a conversation with the defendant, who maintained the false identity and accepted he had sent the messages.

The summary of facts also records that another woman received messages and calls from the same fake profile in May 2023.

The defendant accepted he was responsible for those communications.

Police linked the offending to the defendant through Uber records, phone data and digital evidence.

A phone number associated with the communications was registered to the defendant at a Dunedin address, and telecommunications data showed it was active in relevant locations.

When police executed a search warrant at his home in October 2023, they seized electronic devices, including a mobile phone containing conversations between the fake profile account and the victims.

The trial continues.

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.